Semolina + Whole Wheat Bread

Since the day I started baking breads, I have constantly been trying out different proportions of whole wheat flour, maida, semolina etc in my breads. Every bread bake is an experience in itself. You get to learn a lot of things during each bake. I am a huge fan of semolina bread and its my family’s favourite too. My first experience of semolina bread was after reading the beautiful and very well written blog of Harini Sankarnarayan. She has explained it in detail in her blog laddlesandwhisks.wordpress.com.

The rise of semolina during the proofing as well as during the bake is amazing. Every time I have problems in my whole wheat bread, I immediately bake a semolina bread to ascertain myself that I still can bake breads. This time I added some  whole wheat flour to semolina and baked… and wow !!! What an amazing height and what a soft texture. An absolute beauty and very delicious too. Perfect for a veg sandwich for breakfast. Neha loves semolina bread and gets excited whenever I bake it for her. I like the nutty flavour of semolina. And as Harini says, never miss the end slices of the loaf. This recipe is free of butter, milk, milk powder and eggs.

Ingredients:

• Semolina 300 gm (2 cups)
• Whole wheat flour 125 gm (1 cup)
• Salt as reqd
• Sugar 1 tsp
• Instant yeast 1/2 tsp heaped
• Lukewarm water approximately 1 1 /2 cup minus 1 tbsp
• Olive oil 2 tbsp or as reqd

Method:

• Mix all the dry ingredients and combine well till its mixed properly.
• Take the lukewarm water in a big mixing bowl and slowly incorporate the dry ingredients into the water and mix well. It will look like a shaggy dough at this point. Don’t attempt to knead it at this point. Simply cover the bowl and keep it aside for 10 minutes.
• Knead the dough on a clean kitchen counter using the oil and making your hands a bit moist when its too sticky to handle. Knead for 10-12 minutes by using the stretch and fold method into a smooth, soft and pliable dough. When you poke your fingers into the dough, it should spring back. This indicates that the dough is ready to be kept for proofing.
• Place the dough in a well oiled bowl and cover the bowl with a cling wrap and keep it in a warm place for the dough to double in size.
• Once the dough is doubled, gently punch the dough and remove the air bubbles. Knead again for a minute or two. Roll the dough into a rectangle and fold it tightly like a log and seal the edges well.
• Place the rolled dough in a well oiled bread tin (I use 9 x 3.5 x 3.25), apply some oil on the top of the log and allow it to almost double or till the dough almost reaches the brim of the tin.
• Preheat the oven at 180 degree celsius for 10 minutes and bake the bread for 40 minutes till the crust is almost golden in colour. Remove from oven and apply butter on the crust and bake for 5 more minutes or so at 190-200 degree celsius.
• Remove the bread from the oven and apply butter on top. Gently take the bread out of the tin and allow it to cool on a wire rack till its fully cooled.Wait for atleast 2-3 hours before slicing.
• Slice into neat slices and serve.

Notes:

• Use unroasted and very fine semolina. It is known by chirotti rava and available in all leading supermarkets in Tamil Nadu. If you do not get chirotti rava, take the normal unroasted upma rava/sooji and grind it in a mixer and use it.
• Each oven behaves differently, so decide on the timings and temperature accordingly.
• The amount of liquid absorbed by each flour is different, hence the amount of water required for kneading will vary.
• While kneading, curb the temptation to add more dry flour to get rid of the stickiness. The dough will ultimately come together after kneading. You can moisten your hands slightly or apply oil on your hands while kneading.
• You can use a plastic scrapper to scrap the dough which gets stuck to the counter while kneading.
• Also the timings of proofing vary according to weather conditions, so keep a watch on the dough during both the proofing.
• Incase the top of the bread browns too much during the first 20-25 minutes of baking, cover the top of the tin with an aluminium foil and tent it while baking.
• You can cover the top of the bread with a clean and  moist soft towel while its cooling. This ensures faster cooling and the crust remains soft.
• Allow the bread to cool for atleast 2-3 hours before you slice them. This will ensure clean and neat slices.
• Use a long serrated knife to slice the bread.
• Home made breads stays fresh only for a day or two outside. So its better to consume your breads when they are fresh. Neatly cling wrap your breads in 2-3 layers and refrigerate them for longer life.